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KEITH EDWARD FUERST

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Eastern Illinois University

KEITH FUERST Obituary

Keith Edward Fuerst Keith Edward Fuerst, 58, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was the beloved husband of Cindy (nee Takiguchi); loving father of Alison (Dan) Wojcik and Andrea (Jake) Brott; proud grandfather of Eva, Aidan, Lily and Ella; dear son of A. E. "Todd" and Madelyn Fuerst; and fond brother of Gary and Todd (Carol) Fuerst, Carla Mortimer and Cheri (Jeff) Kehl. Keith graduated from Appleton East High School in 1969, and continued his education at Eastern Illinois University, where he participated in gymnastics. He retired after 32 years of teaching at West Leyden High School in 2005, where he also coached gymnastics. During his retirement, he became deeply involved in his church community. He was also able to spend time on woodworking and with his grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Community, 2515 W. Palatine Road, Inverness, IL 60067. For more information, call Elegy Cremation and Memorial Services, 877-565-7070.

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Published by Daily Herald on Jan. 15, 2010.

Memories and Condolences
for KEITH FUERST

16 Entries

Christine brain schwartz

July 26, 2023

I'm so sorry for your loss,he was a great coach.he never gave up on any of us no matter how we did on the floor or other areas.my first year in the sport was made more memorable because of him and Mr back.
Chris brain 1990

Thomas Finley

March 17, 2010

I was a friend of Keith's back in the EIU days. As it often happens, we lost contact with each other after graduation. He was a tremendous athlete and a man of goals and principles. My deepest sympathy are with his family.
Tom Finley
1759 CO RD 750 N
Greenup, IL 62428

January 25, 2010

My Deepest Sympathy goes out to the Fuerst Family. I had Mr. Fuerst and he was a wonderful teacher and a great man. I wish I would have found out about his passing sooner so I could have attended his services. Unfortunatley I just found out now.
Praying for you to be comforted,
Michelle Renee Greb(nee Panico)
West Leyden H.S. Class of 1994

Debbie (McMullen) Belmont

January 19, 2010

Such a wonderful man. My daughter, Kristie was presented with the Keith Fuerst Award for Outstanding Achievement in English at the FERN Awards assembly at West Leyden in Feb. 2009. She had the chance to have a long and meaningful talk with him and he gave her some great advice for her future. I wish I would have had him as a teacher when I was at Leyden. He will be missed. Please accept our deepest condolences. Kristie Belmont~class of 2010 & Debbie (McMullen) Belmont~ class of 1979

Sandra Donnay

January 17, 2010

My most sincere sympathies are with the family of Mr. Fuerst. He had a great sense of humor, and a great sense of the ridiculous. He was a wonderful teacher and he will be missed.
S.D. Class of 1978

Peggy Kasallis

January 17, 2010

A great man. Loved his passion for teaching kids, both in the classroom and in gymnastics. My prayers are with the family.

Jena Watson

January 16, 2010

My heart goes out to Mr. Fuerst's family. He was such a genuine person and a fantastic instructor; one of the few that I will always remember as having a respectable influence in my younger years. I will always cherish the memories of being in his AP class where we shared many laughs through his teachings which he always paired with witty stories and commentary. He gave me an appreciation for English literature in a manner that no other ever could.

May he Forever Rest in Peace to dance with the intellectual minds of The Greats.

~JW. Grad. 2004

Jim McGarvey

January 16, 2010

Deepest condolences to the Fuerst family.
A wonderful teacher.
West Leyden Class of 78

January 16, 2010

Please accept my sincere sympathy on the passing of Mr. Fuerst-- He was a wonderful teacher
Terrie Lobe Matusek West Leyden Class of 1978

Steve Wick

January 16, 2010

Mr Fuerst wil be greatly missed. He was a great teacher coach and person. He personally pushed me to be a better gymnnast and I will be forever grateful for how and what he taught me. I have two very vivid memories of him. First we were up in the gymnastics room at west leyden practicing and he jumped up on the rings swung a bit then dropped into a perfect iron cross. Second was how he taught me to vault. I was doing a handspring and everytime I would I would duck my head when I hit the horse causing me not to get any hieght. He threatened to tape my head back if I did it again. Well I did , so he took athletic tape stuck it to my forehead pulled my head back and ran the tape from my forehead over my hair and down to the center of my back. he looked at me and said and I quote" I bet you think thats going to come right off." I said yeah. he proceeded to run the tape around my head to hold it onto my forehead then had me raise my arms and wrapped tape around me to hold it from coming off my back. Well, it worked I didnt duck my head and that season I won 1st place on vault at the leyden invite, and the biggest most memorable event happened at the conference meet . I WON CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!! thank you Mr Fuerst I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!
STEVE WICK

Loriann Wunder

January 15, 2010

My condolences to Mr. Fuerst's family. He was a fantastic teacher. I still remember the things he taught in class, and he provided 'life lessons' to all of us as well, not just the curricula. I was in his class when his wife was pregnant with their first baby, and he talked about it with us.
Sincerely,
Loriann Stanislawski Wunder (West Leyden, class of '80)

Penny Wagner-Feldmann

January 15, 2010

Deepest condolences to the Fuerst family.
West Leyden Class of 78

Dawn Mucha

January 15, 2010

My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Fuerst's family. I knew him from West Leyden HS. He was a great gymnastics coach and was admired by many. Take comfort in knowing that he touched many people's lives.

Irv & Gail Bedard

January 15, 2010

Please accept our sincere sympathy on Keith's passing. So untimely. He picked up the gymnastics gauntlet at Leyden when i retired, and i knew it was safe in his hands. A great guy, and a dedicated educator. We are so very sorry for your loss. Sincerely,

Christine Gebhardt

January 15, 2010

My deepest sympathies go out to all of Keith's loved ones. He was like a second father to me. I remember taking gymnastic classes from him since I was 9 years old. Ironically, his college roommate was my mentor in becoming an optometrist and I remain thankful to Keith for facilitating that introduction. I have only kind words and fond memories of his lovely wife and beautiful daughters. He will be missed but not forgotten.

Kerry Reiss Jaburek

January 15, 2010

I'm so sorry to hear about Mr Fuerst. He was my gymnastics coach and he basically helped me become the person I am today. I wish I could of seen him more often since graduation in 1983. I did run into him at some West Leyden functions after I graduated and it was always great to see him. My prayers are with all of you. I will try to make it to the memorial.
Kerry Reiss Jaburek

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